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Age: 27 (born Aug. 19, 1982, in Tucson, Ariz.)

Height, weight: 6-2, 181

Drafted: Second round of 2001 draft by Milwaukee.

2009 statistics: .229, 11 HR, 47 RBI in 115 games

Career statistics: .262, 75 HR, 265 RBI in 571 games (five seasons)

In the genes: Hardy’s dad, Mark, played professional tennis, and his mother, Susie, was the No. 2-ranked college amateur behind Nancy Lopez before being forced to give up golf because of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Rapid rise: Hardy played only 26 games at Class AAA Indianapolis in 2004 before suffering a serious injury to his left shoulder that required surgery and ended his season. Nonetheless, in 2005 he became the first Brewers rookie to start on Opening Day since Paul Molitor in 1978, and in 2007 he was an NL All-Star.

Hard feelings: Hardy is coming off his worst season in 2009, batting .229 and getting demoted to the minors on Aug. 12. He was recalled Sept. 1, but the timing left him one day short of service time to qualify for a full major league season. As a result, his free agency has been pushed to the end of the 2011 season.

Did you know? As a youngster growing up in Tucson, Hardy was a neighborhood friend of Dustin Yount, son of Brewers Hall of Famer Robin Yount.